Mercedes Velarde(painter)

Mercedes Isabel Puelma Velarde born 18 January 1943 is an American painter.

Biography

Born in Los Angeles,California to Carlos Gustavo Puelma Valenzuela and Maria De Los Angeles Velarde Espinosa. Velarde grew up in the Silverlake District of Los Angeles, California, Mexico City and different countries of Europe.Velarde's earliest art influences began at 9 years old. Her mother enrolled her in art classes at Barnsdall in Los Angeles, California. Barnsdall was a wonderful Frank Lloyd Wright building inspired by the Mayan Pyramids. There was an exhibition gallery and a building devoted to art classes. At this time she was also taking art classes at the Otis Chandler home on Wilshire Blvd.This was before they built Otis Art Institute which she later attended.She was 12 years old when she started working in oils.She had private art lessons just up the street from Anais Nin in Silverlake. In high school she received a scholarship to the Los Angeles Art Institute where she began figure drawing classes.She spent the next 3 years in Mexico City studying Fine Art at the Academia San Carlos at the Universidad Nacional Autonomo de Mexico.During this period Velarde studied with Hans Burkhardt who was a pupil of Arshile Gorky along with Willem De Kooning.Hans Burkhardt was in Mexico City doing studies of the open graves in the cemetaries.He was to return to teach at Otis Art Institute where Velarde later enrolled in the Fine Arts program and continued to study with him.Upon returning from Mexico Velarde enrolled at Chouinard Art Institute where she pursued drawing and painting in the Fine Arts dept for another 3 years. The following year Velarde had the good fortune to attend Cornish Art Institute founded by Nellie Cornish of the Chicago Bauhaus.Here she was exposed to the Northwest painters Mark Tobey and Morris Graves further developing her skills.It was very enriching because it was a school of Allied Arts so while she was painting she could listen to Bach from the piano students practicing, for inspiration she could go up to the third floor and watch the ballet classes. Velarde returned to Los Angeles and attended Otis Art Institute to study for her Master's Degree in Fine Art.At that time Chouinard's did not have a Master's program available.www.mercedesvelarde.com